Meat should soon be widely available that is made without the slaughter of animals. This ‘cultured’ or ‘cultivated’ meat is also made without using antibiotics. It should reduce the risk of pandemics, and food-borne illnesses. This new way of making meat will reduce the environmental cost of producing food for the growing global population.

Cultured meat is made in two stages. The method we use requires a reliable cell line from the species of choice, which can grow quickly, then differentiate into the desired cell-type, such as muscle. The cells grow in nutrient-rich media that is supplemented with biochemical cues - growth factors - that stimulate them to proliferate. This creates the mass of cells, then the media is changed to one that stimulates those cells to fuse together and express the proteins characteristic of muscle fibres. This differentiation creates the distinctive texture and flavours of meat.

The cultured meat sector is building rapidly, with more than 100 cellular agriculture companies across the globe. It is growing all the time! The cultured meat industry requires innovation to bring new food products to market.

Heuros is creating the technologies needed for the production of cultured meat. We are optimising our novel GM-free growth factors and media composition, and developing innovative processing, packaging and custom bioreactors. Our business model is to supply these technologies to cultured meat companies around the world, whilst developing our own unique cultured meat products for consumers.